American Express Platinum Cards | Amex Canada introduction and review

American Express the Platinum Card is a mid- to high-end charge card issued by American Express. The main difference between the charge card and the “Credit Card” we talk about today is that it often has a strong purchase limit and various VIP rights, also it has a high annual fee and 30% repayment of the annual interest rate (so, repay on time).

American Express itself is both a bank (but there is no
corresponding branch in Canada and related daily business) and a card issuer
(like Visa/Mastercard), while a personal platinum card is a fist product of
American Express, which has already become a popular American culture.

The personal platinum card issued by
American Express in Canada is the favorite credit card of myself. At present,
Canada’s Express Platinum Card is still a plastic card, I hope it can be the
metal cards which is issued in the United States as soon as possible.

annual fee

The card costs is $699 per year, including
$200 per year for reimbursement of annual air ticket and hotel consumption, so
the equivalent annual fee is actually $499. Since the reimbursement amount of
$200 is calculated on a calendar year basis, some people who do not hold the
card for a long time can actually use the $200 again after the end of the card
year. However, I do not recommend this way of using cards.

Application rewards

Currently, you can apply for this card
through a friend’s referral link, and you can get a 60,000 MR card-opening
reward with expense of $3000 or more in the first three months. If you apply
directly on the official website, the card reward is only 50,000 MR. Welcome to
use the recommended link on this site, thank you.

American Express cancelled the revenue
requirement for all publicly issued cards in Canada in 2017, and currently the
online application does not require the applicant to be a PR, only a Canadian
credit record is needed. The application for Platinum Cards is not very
difficult. Usually, as long as there are more than eight months of Canadian
credit history and the records are good, the card can be successfully issued.

Point value

This card is still a point system, using
American Express’s own Membership Rewards (MR), MR is rated at around 0.018 cad
per quotation; 1.25 MR for every $1 spent (this is equivalent to at least 2 %
of daily consumption returns).

The MR flexibility of the cards in
different countries is different. In Canada, the flexibility of MR accumulated
by different cards is also different, and the MR flexibility of gold and
platinum cards is higher. Cobalt’s MR has more restrictions on use, and I only
recommend conversion to SPG points (2:1 conversion ratio) or credit for bills
(per MR=$0.01).

Points usage

Many people are wondering what the basis of
the 1 MR=$0.018 valuation given by the bloggers, and I found in the daily life
that a large number of card owners actually took the MR for the gift card, so
the value is only 1 MR= Up and down $0.012, it is actually a loss.

The MR usage recommended by bloggers is:

1. Convert to aeroplan mileage in a 1:1
ratio for redemption of Star Alliance tickets. I don’t recommend using aeroplan
to redeem economy class airfare on international routes – except when economy
class tickets are extra expensive.

The picture below shows the actual flight
of the Air Canada YVR-PVG business class that can be redeemed by 75000 MR+tax:

The meals are good too,

2. Convert to SPG points in a 2:1 ratio,
and then combine the AmEx SPG card opening rewards, it is easy to get 90000 SPG
points for the Marriott 7-day gift package. This usage is especially suitable
for travel enthusiasts.

3. Can be used to directly exchange tickets
with the Freight’s Fixed Point Travel Program

For the rest of the usage, the blogger does
not recommend because of the low utilization of the point value.

Hotel Interests

The highlight of the hotel’s rights and
interests is: Platinum Card (Personal / Commercial) is directly with the Hilton
Gold Card, SPG Gold Card. The SPG Gold Card can be directly matched to the
Marriott Gold Card.

For Hilton and SPG Gold members, it mean
that when you live in a lot of their branded hotels (except for some top
brands), you get direct access to free upgrades, free breakfast for two, lounge
access, late checkout and more rights and interests. For those who travel
frequently every year, with certain economic strength, they can consider using
this right.

Fine Hotels and Resorts

In addition, it is worth mentioning that
the company is proud of the Fine Hotels and Resorts Program (FHR). FHR is a
high-end luxury hotel reservation platform for American Express for Platinum
and Blackcard users, featuring top hotels around the world.

FHR is not only a luxury hotel, but also a
high-end treatment. You don’t need to spend money or need to be a senior member
of the hotel to get it:

Early
check-in at 12 o’clock and late check-out at 4 o’clock;

Upgrade the
room type according to the room status;

Free daily
breakfast for two (some are self-service early, while others give orders of 35
US per person per day;

Hotel
spending worth at least $100 (some hotels are $150, and if you have a black
card, there is even $200/$300)

Aviation rights

Platinum cards can take some of the
airport’s fast security checkpoints, and these airports will have corresponding
signage. In addition, Platinum Card has better airport VIP lounge benefits:

1) Platinum Lounge Benefit, including free
entry to the Plaza Premium Lounge and Servisair Executive Lounge, with a spouse
and two children under the age of 21 or a fellow traveler. Canada’s current
Plaza Premium Lounge covers YYZ/YVR/YEG/YWG.

2) Airport Club Program, currently only the
Delta Lounge can be used free of charge, and only for the person, you need to
show the boarding pass for the Delta flight on the day, and the extra person
will charge 19 USD per person.

3) Priority Pass is also the most widely
distributed airport lounge in the world. The Priority Pass (PP) from the
Commercial Platinum Card only provide membership (worth $99 USD per year) and
an additional $27 USD entry fee is required for each entry into the PP lounge.
PP membership is a direct gift of
Personal Platinum worth $399 USD per year, and the PP lounge at the airport can
be used free of charge. This is also the main difference between the two cards
in the VIP lounge of the airport.

4) The Centurion Lounge, the famous
Centurion Lounge, is also the store’s own lounge. Most of the outlets are in
the United States, and it is also a relatively popular lounge in the US
airport.

The airport lounge is mainly suitable for
people who travel a lot, and is especially useful for people who are not in the
economy class but who are not senior members of the airline. In particular,
there are times when I stay at the airport for a few hours. I have a place to
eat and drink. I think it will greatly ease the journey and calm the mood.

Car rental interest

In the car rental section, Platinum Card
provides Avis and Hertz related rights. Platinum card users can directly get
Avis’s Preferred membership or Hertz’s Five Star membership. You can get a 7-8
discount through the Platinum card booking code rental, and there is a certain
probability to upgrade the model.

For example, the last time I went to the
waterfall, I originally ordered Corolla, and I got a S60:

Insurance

Personal or baggage delay insurance

If your ticket is purchased or redeemed
with you platinum card, you can get reimbursement up to $1000 for four hours or
more. delay

Personal Platinum also provides an extended
warranty for the purchase of goods for up to one year.

Purchase Protection

At the end of 2017, the effective date of
this benefit will be extended to 120 days – that is, if there is a theft or
damage in the 120 days of the purchase of the goods and the merchant does not
compensate, the AE will pay you.

Dinning rights

In addition, food can be considered to
study the Fine Dining Program – similar to the FHR in the restaurant industry,
when you call the Platinum card customer service to help you book the hotel
above the Program List, you can get a free appetizer while eating or welcome
wine (worth $10~$20)